Jefferson’s Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

Jefferson's Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

Happy Independence Day!  Yesterday we said our goodbyes to the Old World with a delicious single malt scotch – the GlenDronach 21 Year Old Parliament.  What better way to celebrate from breaking away from our colonial past than to drink America’s native whiskey, bourbon…and one named after the very man that wrote those famous words “we hold these truths to be self-evident”...Jefferson’s Reserve Single Barrel.  This particular bottle is a store pick from one of my favorite local shops.  

ABV: 50%

How it smells…classic bourbon notes including vanilla and cinnamon, but also banana like a banana foster.

How it tastes…vanilla and soft oak at the start followed by toffee and caramel.  The end is sweet with honey and cinnamon and allspice on the finish which is a bit drying.  

Price…$70

Rating...🥃🥃🥃🥃

Final thoughts….This was a really delicious sip.  I was a bit concerned as I haven’t had a lot of Jeffersons in the past and I didn’t want to have to give a subpar rating for this July 4th review, but I knew it was going to be enjoyable at the first whiff.  On the sip, it’s a classic bourbon profile with lots of vanilla and cinnamon and just a touch of oak.  The sweetness and spiciness work in harmony throughout the sip.  I really enjoyed this and I’m going to have to start carrying a Jefferson’s on my shelf going forward, so a 4x 🥃 seems appropriate.  It is a bit high priced at $70, but you get decent proof, and as a single barrel store pick, there’s always a bit of a premium price to it.

Jefferson’s is a bit tight-lipped on their website about what’s inside the bottle, but they have always been transparent that they source their whiskey.  They call this one “Very Old” and “Very Small Batch”.  From internet sleuthing, the “Very Old” moniker is allegedly a blend of 8-18 year old bourbon with the “Very Small Batch” meaning a blend of 8-12 barrels.  I have seen websites that claim they blend 3 different Kentucky bourbons together, some say 4, but they all seem to agree that they are each mash bills that use rye as the flavor grain.  The question is whether they are vatting the sourced bourbon from various distilleries prior to barreling or blending the individually aged juice afterwards.  As a Single Barrel, this would mean this either has a blend of bourbons inside or it is just a sourced barrel that has been bottled under the Jefferson’s brand.  If the latter, “Very Small Batch” indeed is small, as it is one barrel.